A name?
[Yes. A name.]
Can't I just call you The Overseer?
[That's my designation. A title.]
I'm not good with names.
[I will agree with you on that one, master but you are the only who I will allow.]
Why? Because I'm your master?
[Yes.]
I sigh.
Not long after I cremated Muo Li, [Mana Overseer] leveled up and the ability under its domain, [Mana Perception] evolved into [Arcane Analysis]. In which, it gained sentience.
And there is another thing to be concerned of. I'm no longer being constantly attacked by monsters. In fact, they all scuttled away the moment they noticed my presence.
Not complaining but this is odd. I got a bad feeling about this.
[That's because of me.]
You?
[Yes. I have been doing some tampering. Since I'm the one overseeing your Mana flow and structure as my title implies, I made your abnormally high and powerful Mana emanated to the surrounding atmosphere. To put it simply, you are now giving out a very threatening and murderous aura to the monsters.]
Why would you do that and why didn't you ask for permission first?
[I don't need to because I know it is what you desire.]
And how would you know that?
[I'm not just the overseer of your Mana but I am also you, a part of you, to be precise. A split personality. Your sub-conscious. Your inner desire. Your dark side. Take your pick.]
My inner desire? My dark side?
[I represent all of those, my master.]
Don't call me that, please.
[No need to be embarrassed now, master.]
I am not.
[I know what's in your mind. I know what you are thinking. I told you, I am you, after all.]
Really?
[You like being called master but you're in the closet about it.]
I am not.
[Really? Then shall I refresh your memory on.....]
Okay. Okay. You made your point. Fair enough.
[Of course, my master.]
Can you be quiet for a moment?
.....
Thank you.
Great. One problem after another.
I look over my shoulder, towards Tom and the others. They all have been staring at me for a while now. I guess I was in a very weird mood. I can even feel it myself.
How do I go about explaining this to them?
For all I know, they might officially stamp me with insane. They would probably think I lost my mind from Muo Li's death.
Ha..... Damn it....
I don't feel so good now. A part of me wishes I didn't deny Muo Li's final wish. Unlike Clammis or Tom, for that matter, I think she held a special place in my heart.
My thoughts have let my gaze went adrift and landed on Bartholomew. He looks scare and turn his face away from me.
I don't need a mirror to tell me that I'm not making a nice face now.
[F-Y-I, you are not hallucinating or imagining me up. You might be mourning but you are not on meds, alright?]
I am in mourning but I don't think I will hallucinate from that. Will I?
No no no no. Don't think that. I am not hallucinating.
Not yet.
This.... dude is real. I know he is.
[I am without gender actually, but since I'm you, it wouldn't be wrong to call me a he.]
In that case.....
[No. Please don't, my honorable master.]
Wow. You can really read my mind.
[No. You are naming me that. Please don't.]
What's wrong with that?
[You are not going to name me Hyx No. 2]
Just Number 2?
[.....]
How about you name yourself?
[It won't feel.... right then. I may be you but I'm not the main one. The final word, the final say, those privileges are yours.]
Hmm....
Privileges, eh....
What so good about it to make those two privileges?
[Just for your information, I don't see the world like you do.]
I heard some complicated words.
What do you mean?
[It's difficult to explain. How can I put this.....ta ta ta ta ta......]
Hmm.... I do somehow remember make sounds like that when I'm deep in thought.
[Ah. Imagine this. For a website, you see the brilliant designs, the myriad colors, the wonderful images while I see the coding, the elements. Therefore, I perceive more information than you.]
You're my subconscious.... that means.... I can actually see the world that way?
[Yes but it won't be easy. I represent all of which you can't comprehend, interpret, and process. For example when you see a picture, you perceive the subject first, and then the objects, and then the colors, and then the background. You process these information one by one, Perhaps it took you five second to perceive the whole picture. While I perceive everything the moment I laid my.... "eyes" upon the picture and I can even tell what kind of paint is used and how old it is. All from a single glance of not even a second.]
Won't that overload my brain? You maybe my sub-conscious but we still use the same brain.
[If this was you before, yes. But you are different now.]
What changed?
[Your diet.]
Ah....?
Oh.
That.
Are you saying that the more.... raw.... stuff.... I eat, the more RAM I will have?
[To put it that way, yes. Sapient races, eating them raw, gives the most RAM.]
Ah... That's....
[That's very morbid and there's the temptation of the immorality. Yes, I know.]
You know a lot, don't you?
[I just know what you know. I am your hidden talent, your true potential.]
Alright. You made your point. No need to keep repeating the same shit.
[Of course, master.]
At least you listen. Unlike the previous two that I met. Don't want to point any fingers but one is a zealous warrior and another is an illegal immigrant.
"Boy! In front." Lubac shouted.
I'm snapped back to reality when the Court Alchemist calls out. Just ahead, I found Wights crawling out from a hole in the ceiling. Every other monsters or giant bugs have been avoiding me but not this Wights.
Heh? I wasn't aware they are lurking in this area too.
Unlike their usual purplish blue Mana, it is now an intense dark purple. Similar to mine.
[It seems they have been corrupted by Aedrox.]
Just what I was thinking but how?
[The ore veins.]
Right, they are everywhere in the dungeon like the cyan vines.
[They are not normal ore veins. They are highly reactive to magic. Aedrox is using those veins to draw additional power and in the process, corrupting those veins with its essence.]
Like a vampire infecting its victims while sucking them dry. So why does corrupting the veins have anything to do with the Wights?
[You realized it too, didn't you? The Wights are unusual even in this dungeon. Other monsters are based on animals we known. Not the Wights. They are different.]
It can't be.... They....
[If I know it then you do too. The veins might be included in their diet. You see but you don't notice. They are different than the other monster you came across. Who is to say that their diet couldn't be different too?]
"Hyx! They're behind us too."
That's a lot of "too"s in just ten seconds.
Anyways, Tom's right. They are also coming from behind us. In fact, they are swarming this place from every available. It's like they are attracted to this place.
[Master. As usual, you see but didn't notice. Did you notice it now?]
Yeah.
I said.
It's very obvious now from the Overseer's words.
The Wights, they are different but they are even more disparate now.
Instead of their usual pale white skin, dark purple veins appeared all over their body.
[They were....]
Humans. Yes, I realized.
If there's a village then there must be peoples who lived in those villages but we didn't see any sign of the villagers. A lot of things could have happened to them, maybe they decomposed or they got absorb by either the earth or plants but now, there is a more probable theory to what happened to the villagers.
These Wights, they were the villagers. Corrupted by the Void long ago and unsealing Aedrox trigger the dormant Void essence within them, allowing the dark purple veins surfacing on their skin.
And there is one last obvious clue to my theory, these Wights look awfully a lot like humans, deformed humans.
This place, this dungeon, if my guess is right, it wasn't always a dungeon. It might have been a small town once but something happened. My money is on Aedrox. It made this place what it is now.
And as that thought crossed my mind, the whole place shook again.
Another chunk of rock fell from the fracturing ceiling, it landed just in front of Bartholomew and Cormac. But the Wights aren't all fortunate, some are crushed by the falling debris.
I say that's a win.
They're all alright, no one in the party is hurt but Lubac's nerves is just getting worse. He's biting his fingers.
[Yeah. I'll keep a lookout in case his behavior exceeds the tolerable standards.]
More Wights gush in like a waterfall, becoming obstacles to the one path available in the passage.
They are just perfect for me to test my new ability.
Instead of a purplish black sphere, a dark purple energy orb conjures in my hand. [Arcane Orb]. I obliterate the Wights on the path with it.
Unlike [Energy Sphere], [Arcane Orb] can be thrown like a ball. The orb of Mana explodes on impact.
Okay..... Nothing too special. It's just a very powerful throwing-explosive. Good for crowd control. All the Wights caught in the explosion are turned into shreds. So, no complain about this ability. Mana consumption is economical.
Launching another [Arcane Orb], I successfully clearing every Wight in my way and we head down that path.
[We will need to get out of here.]
Well, no shit. Ideas?
[Straight ahead. There's a chasm.]
If the Overseer has a face, I will be glaring at it.
Putting on an Irish accent in my mind, I asked, we're going down further?
[There's no further down. Not from what I analyzed. This is the lowest layer. Any lower is just bedrocks. Straight ahead is a river which is the bottom of the chasm.]
Ah. So that's what you meant.
I assume there will be stairs or ropes for us to climb up?
As the talk went on, Tom and Lubac assisted me in repelling the chasing Wights.
[You and I, we have seen many cavities, crevices, openings, and chasms. Do you see any stairs or ropes for traversing?]
Now that I think about it, there's isn't any stairs nor ropes to climb up or down.
[Because the only way to go up is through one's own ability. Either you fly or climb.]
I guess in the end, I'll have to use that terrible idea of mine.
[If it's you alone, traversing between layers wouldn't be a problem. In theory, with just a single jump, you could easily reach two stories.]
The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.
Somehow, I knew those things but I don't, not until it was pointed out. In fact, everything that the Overseer told me felt something like this. It makes one think, "why didn't I thought of that earlier?" that kind of feeling.
Along the way, we saw Wights attacking other monsters. They weren't eating them. They were merely killing them for sports. It has even changed their behavior. I can see why Tom said the Wights are the boss of the upper layers. Now, they might even be the one's who rule the bottom layers.
We arrived at the busy river the Overseer mentioned. Not just rocks or debris, I even saw some monsters being carried away by the rushing waters. I wonder if they fell or dove into it involuntarily.
"Element of tranquility and rage, winds that shred my enemies, Wind Scars." Lubac chanted and sent blades of wind at the pursuing Wights, slicing them into pieces. His ability is in contrast to his nerves. He's not bad.
I look up. There were some giant bugs crawling out of the walls of the chasm. They were leaving their homes. Are they afraid of the Wights too?
[No. It's the not the wights.]
It isn't?
Then, another quake hit but this one has the largest magnitude and lasted for a few seconds. The quake stopped but the aftershock came.
[Finally?]
Yeah, finally.
Finally, after so many large scale spells being cast and many earth-shattering attacks being swung, the whole place is finally coming down.
From the sound of it, an explosion of a massive scale might have happened. Perhaps it's the conclusion of Vira and Aedrox's battle?
"Boy. Where are we going?" Lubac asked in a panic when he realized what's happening. A few more debris almost fell on us but I destroyed them with [Abyssal Javelin] and [Hell Spike].
"Whole place, crumbling?"
"Seem so. Seem so."
The goblins said while looking around at the ceilings frantically.
"Hyx?" Tom look to me for confirmation which I nodded.
"Buy me some time. I'll get us out of here. Just hold those bastards back."
"Bah! Whatever you going to do, do it fast. My Mana pool ain't the abyss, you know?" Lubac shouted back with a infuriating tone but it's understandable.
We have all being fighting our way through non-stop and at most, it's just a few minutes break. Plus, his words do have a point. He probably doesn't come close to having the same amount of Mana I have.
"Element of tranquility and rage, winds of compulsion, Howling Gale."
The air in Lubac's surroundings gathers in a way that resembles the winds chasing its own tail, a tornado so to speak but it's positioned horizontally. This spell doesn't cuts the Wight to pieces like the previous spell but it covers a wider range by pushing the Wights back.
Well, I did say buy some time so this spell kinda reflects my request.
I cast [Plane Displacement] but not as a barrier but a foothold. I thought of using [Overload] but I don't, it wouldn't be ideal. [Overload] enhance spells and abilities but it's volatile and transient.
I just have to pour more Mana into the cast, hopefully enough to withstand one, two, three, four... Five persons' weight.
[If you would allow me, master, I can make it solid enough to carry all four of you.]
You can do that?
[The socializing and fighting is your specialty, tempering and reconstructing Mana flow or structure is mine. So just focus on providing the needed Mana and let your inner demon do the job.]
.... That's not funny.
[It is and you know it, my master. I am....]
.... me. Yes I got it, you're me. So just hurry up.
[Of course. Uno momento, por favor~]
I'm not sure that's how you say "one moment, please" in Spanish.
It ignores me and continues its work with while whistling.
I didn't know it can whistle because I sure as hell can't.
And only now I realized that the Overseer and I share the same voice. As expected of my sub-conscious. It will be weird if its a voice other than mine.
{Element that incinerates and obliterates, tides of flames surge before me, Blazing Wave.}
I don't know why but hearing Tom chanting in Helix keeps tickling my chunni heart. Seems like his Mana pool has increased too. Glad to know I'm not the only one getting stronger.
Wish I can say the same for the two goblins though. They aren't doing anything except being on the verge of a full-on panic. Our journey from now will probably only tougher. I have to find some way to strengthen them.
"Boy! How much longer?"
I look at the layer of transparent foothold which is getting wider and thicker. I would like to answer "Hawaiian time" but I don't think he would get it.
"Just a bit longer!" I shouted back.
"We don't have anymore time!"
I glance back and see Wights flooding into this place. I wasn't aware they have such numbers.
Fuck me, this is real bad.
As I glance back to resume pouring Mana for the construction of a massive [Plane Displacement], I thought I saw some over-sized lance drifting in the busy river. Might just be my imagination though.
No. 2, how's the progress?
[......]
No. 2?
[......]
Oi! Answer me, Einstein.
[Einstein, eh?]
Oops. Nope, I don't mean that. I'm not going to call you, Einstein.
[Then please, a name. Or else, progress remains stagnant.]
Is this how infuriating I am to peoples?
I sigh....
Fine. How about Kai Ming?
[Kai Ming? Hmm..... Enlightened one.... I like it.]
Ugh.... Now, what's the progress?
[Already done.]
I wish you weren't part of me and have a physical body.
[So you could strangle me?]
No. I was going to kiss you. Why would I want to hurt an annoying shit like you?
[Pfft.... Anyways, it is done. Have a look.]
The foothold is about a hundred square feet and three inches thick.
You sure this would hold?
[Anymore than what it is will just complicate and disrupt the structure. This is the best we can do.]
We, huh? Alright. I guess this will do.
"Everyone, hop on." I announced and climbed on top of the transparent foot hold which is actually [Plane Displacement].
"Eee? The barrier?"
"Use as lift?"
Bartholomew and Cormac realize what it actually is. Since they were watching from the sidelines most of the time, they must have realized that it is [Plane Displacement]. I don't know if Tom did too but if he did, he's not saying anything.
After making sure they have all gotten onto the foothold, Lubac included, I repel some extra and unwanted passengers before lifting this whole thing up.
Hmm.... I wonder what magic I am using to make this whole thing float.
[Spatial Magic: Psychokinesis - Acquired]
Oh.
Hmm.... Kai, is that your doing?
[In a way, yes. That is your subconscious informing you but that's like a automatic function whenever certain conditions is met.]
Ah.... I see.
"Boy, we got a big one."
"Stop calling me bo...." My voice trailed off as I laid my eyes on the Wight which has one big eye on its face and a foot taller than the other Wights.
"I have never seen that variant before." Tom told me when I turn to him for answers.
[Seems to be the leader or at least an officer of rank.]
Yeah, I notice.
The One-eyed Wight swats the other Wights aside like flies and charges straight at us.
"Hold on to your nickers!" I shouted as I accelerated our ascend.
With a single jump, the One-eyed Wight easily exceed ten feet. It grips onto the ledge of the foothold and pulls itself onto the plane.
The extra weight almost capsized the foothold but Kai somehow made it only a mere possibility.
The alchemist shrieked and scurried away from the Wight. "Boy!"
Damn it. Maintaining the materialization of this foothold and its ascend is a two men's job, me and Kai. Plus, I'm missing an arm here. "I can't. If I take my concentration off of it, the foothold will disappear."
Lubec's jaws dropped. He has a look of someone watching the apocalypse happening.
Some Court Mage, you are.
[Alchemist].
Shut up.
{Element that incinerates and obliterates, fire that engulf my enemies in a flash, Firebolt}
Tom shot out a fire bolt at the Wight but it came out of the explosion with only scratches and flesh wounds.
[It has....]
....high magic resistance. Yes genius, I notice. Concentrate on the foothold. I'm not keen on another sky diving.
I heard Lubac clicked his tongue before he readied a spell.
I could have sworn that the Wight tilted its head when it heard Lubac chanting. It crouched low before it went lunging at Lubac.
Honestly, I didn't plan on saving Lubac. He has been a pain in my neck and I have a half a mind to off with his head but.... Bartholomew and Cormac pushed him out of the way. Bart was in the green but Cormac got dragged as the Wight went overboard.
Tom reacted fast by grabbing Cormac's arms and so did the Wight, it grabbed onto Cormac's legs.
Fucking hell, I can't do anything in this situation.
There were still quite some distance before reaching the top.
"Lubac!" I roared at the stupefied Court M... Alchemist. "Do something!"
He came back to his senses and begin casting another spell.
"Element of destruction in celerity, thunder that strikes my enemeis, Lightning Bolt."
A flash of lightning shot out and hit the Wight but it barely fazes him.
"What's with this monsters?"
Woah there, calm down, Lubac. I don't know if you're shouting or crying now.
When the Wight got its other free claw on the ledge, it pulled and flipped back on to the plane.
[My esteemed master, we don't have a choice now.]
Yeah, I know. Can you handle two processes at once?
[I can even handle four but....]
At the cost of the ascend's speed.
[Yes and that's not ideal considering the other eyeless Wights are crawling up to us as we speak.]
I take a peek over the edge and find more than dozens of Wights crawling on the walls.
Well, fuck. This is grim.
Whatever, just focus on the maintenance of the foothold. I'll deal with these Wights.
[Got it, Going radio silent.]
When I separate my mind from maintaining the lift, I feel the acceleration slowed and almost flipped but it didn't.
I got my ass off the floor of the plane and charge straight at the One-eyed smug face bastard. I dodged low and over a swipe and surprise it with a literal upper cut with [Abyssal Edge].
Tough.
Its skin is tough. A single swing from [Abyssal Edge] won't cut it, literally.
It swipes at me again but I stop it by grabbing on its swinging arm. It looks surprised at my strength. Fusing [Overload] with [Abyssal Edge], I sever its arm.
Wait. Sever?
......
I can just use that, right?
God damn it, I am an idiot.
It came at me again but I [Sever] it easily into half. I then absorb its soul with [Soul Harvest] before kicking the two pieces off of [Plane Displacement].
I didn't gain any new gimmicks from it but an increase to my Mana and health pool.
I kept forgetting what skills I have. I don't have the time to take out the status card every once in a while in a fight.
"Hyx. There's another one."
I look to where Tom is pointing at. Another One-eyed Wight, crawling on the walls that surpassed our ascending speed.
It leaped but its face met with my tail, slamming it back into the wall and fell into the rushing waters below.
Huh....
My tail, it's pale black and it looks more like a crocodile's tail now as oppose to a lizard's. Well my tail still looks like a reptile's so.... it's alright, I guess?
Oh?
I just got rid of two and another One-eyed Wight is gaining on us. In fact, the other Wights aren't too far behind.
I guess it's time to use that. Well, I could have use that against Aedrox but I was afraid the roof might collapse on us if I did. Since everything is coming down anyways, I don't see the problem now.
That thing is Gray Spores. Out of the things I have lost, I'm glad this wasn't one of them.
I scatter them around and [Force Push] the leaping One-eyed Wight away. It collides with the walls and other climbing Wights as it fell.
"Tom, if you don't mind." I asked.
And he nodded.
He chanted and drops the fireball in his hand below him.
The explosion in mid air reminds me of fireworks but the colors are little bit too intense for my liking.
Another chunk broke off from the walls and almost crashed into us. It didn't hit because I turn it into smaller chunks with [Distort].
And we finally made it up to the upper layer.
Good to be back.
As I am the last to disembark, I heard this from Kai.
[Uh.... Oops?]
And [Plane Displacement] disappears beneath my feet. Now, there is nothing beneath my feet.
Kai!!!
[Sorry! I relaxed too early!]
Even the careless is so like me....
I managed to grab on to the ledge. Someone helped me up and to my surprise, it wasn't Tom but Lubac.
I didn't bother to hide my shocked expression.
"What? You think I'm gonna let you die and leave me with this orc and goblins alone?"
"I'm not really a human too if you haven't been paying attention." I swayed my tail and wave my claws to emphasize my point.
"Better you than orcs or goblins."
"Why you hate them so much?"
"You would have seen their habits and nature by now. What do you think?"
Ah.... I see. So that's how it is.
"Well, I'll say this once." Maybe twice, I don't remember if I had warned him before. "They are different and they are my friends. I know them longer than I know you. So be careful of your next actions."
Lubac gave me no answer and simply turn away from me.
Can't really blame his intense hatred. They have a solid reason for it and it's not just a blind discrimination.
The world out there would be hard for these three but I'll be there for them.
After leaving the edges of the chasm, we are then greeted by Serrators. Well, they didn't specifically came out to greet us. They were also escaping the collapse and we just happen to cross paths.
So.... Howdy?
[Bruh.]
Sad to say and as expected of monsters, they can't read the mood. They prioritize attacking us rather than escaping. What idiots....
I hold them off while letting Tom and the others escape down the only available passage. There is another passage but it's the one the Serrators are coming out from. So that's off the list.
I'm fending off at least tens of giant bear-like monsters while letting an Alchemist, an orc, and two goblins making their escape. I won't have believe this would be happening if tell me of these to the me six days ago.
A lot has happened....
I'm getting stronger.... way too fast but sometimes..... I feel that is too slow....
[Hyx... don't.]
Don't what? And what happened to calling me, master?
[Don't. The past is the past.]
I don't know what you are talking about.
[I am in your head, Hyx. Hell, I am your head. You can't hide it.]
Well, don't you things would be different?
[Even if I were present back then with your fight with Aedrox, do you actually believe the outcome would have changed? That thing is even more than a freak of nature. It's not even nature. I doubt things would have play out differently.]
I know but don't you....
[Master Hyx, they are dead. Accept that. You.... We can't bring them back.]
.....
I know.
I can't bring them back....
I'm no god.
[Exactly, master.]
Not yet, at least.
----------------------------------------
Lubac said something along with a groan which made his words incomprehensible to me. But it's most probably a complain.
I can relate to him though.
Well.... our route is blocked by a mountain of debris. Seems recent as the debris is still piling up.
"Alternate route?" I asked Tom as he is familiar with these layers. The layers where I met him and the goblins and the layers above, it's kinda like the back of his hand.
"No." he answered, unfortunately. "The other way would be the one where the Serrators are flooding in."
Well.... not just the Serrators actually, even the Kalas, Goliaths, giant bugs, and many more are making their escape from the collapse.
It goes without saying that I took everything down in our path.
"Boy, can't you just blow it all away?" Lubac asked a question without going through his brain.
"Well, I can but what's to say that I won't made the roof above our heads come down on us first? I don't know if you have been sleeping but this whole place is very fragile at the moment."
Lubac kept quiet when he realized that logic. Even the dungeon help me made my point by breaking off another chunk from the roof.
"There! There!"
"A small hole."
Oh? There is. A small hole. Is it big enough to fit all of us?
Lubac is the first to act but I stop him. He glares at me but I glare back. He backed down.
"Tom, you first. Make sure, it's safe."
As always, he just nods and complies.
Since Tom is the biggest among us five, if he can get through then we can.
"There's magic beasts here but they are running for their lives, so it should be fine."
"Alright." I affirmed with him. "Bartholomew, Cormac, you two.... and then you, Lubac."
I expected Lubac to be defiant or at least make a defiant face but he didn't. I guess this old man can learn too.
When it is Lubac's turn, he is cursing something under his breath while taking his sweet time crawling across the hole. And that's also when the Serrators caught up.
"Hurry! I yelled.
"Boy! Don't yell." He yelled back. Huh. "You attracted the passing monsters, great."
Uh....
[Oops, I guess?]
Yeah. Sorry.
Before I can join with them, a flash of red lightning rushes at me from behind. I sensed it early enough for me to dodge but the bolt collapse the small hole.
Shit.
And I was right about the place being unstable.
Another huge piece of rock fell from the roof and crush a Serrator beside the Alpha who fired the lightning bolt.
Well done, idiot.
I sigh.
Let's make this quick.
I first cast [Overload] and then followed it up with a field of [Hell Spike]. Granted, this combo has a very bad Mana consumption.
Every Serrators but the Alpha are skewered. What a sight to behold. Not bad.
Ah....
Not good. I'm not disgusted by the guts hanging out. Damn it.
The lightning clad on the Alpha's body screamed along with the Alpha itself. It boosts its speed. It is coming at me at least fifty mile per hour.
Shit!
I moved aside, in anticipation that it would went head first into the debris behind me but nope, it stops perfectly before crashing into it. It leaves a trail of fire and crackling lightning residue.
Since I got [Sever], things hadn't been a challenge. Besides Aedrox, I have yet to meet a monster who can resist [Sever]'s one hit kill tendency until now.
The lightning clad seemed to have protected the Alpha from my [Sever]. I cut it but it's only a shallow wound. Looks like [Spatial Magic] is not so almighty after all.
It smashes its paw to the ground because it missed me. It then unleashes a pulse of lightning from that paw. It struck me but I wasn't badly hurt thanks to [Magic Enhancement].
Digging its paws into the ground it smashed, it lifts and hurls the piece of ground at me. With [Distort], the former piece of ground became nothing before me.
My Mana is....
[Half capacity.]
Yes, I know. Thanks, captain obvious.
[No problem, private oblivious.]
....
[Too easy.]
The Alpha Serrator roared to get my attention.
It leaped and went for a bite at me.
Nice. Just what I need.
With its mouth wide-open, I threw an [Arcane Orb] into it.
It clamps down at me but it missed, of course. I have [Spatial Leap], after all.
Well, I'll be omitting some details from the aftermath but let's just say I was covered with its guts and organs.
Not bad for me, considering I'm half unarmed. Heh. Unarmed.
[That was bad.]
Yeah... I know.
Oh? What's that? Something is leaving the from among the flesh and bits of the Alpha Serrator.
[That's its soul, I believe.]
Oh. Wow.
Ever since, [Mana Overseer] leveled up and became sentient, I have been able to see more with [Mana Perception], well, it's [Arcane Analysis] now but I more used to saying [Mana Perception].
Should I just call it Mana Vision then?
[Whatever.]
If that's the soul, then.....
Black tendrils came out from my back and darted straight at the ascending soul. Those tendrils tore the souls into piece and greedily devour it. If Mana spills blood, it would be very gory.
[Soul Harvest: Lv. 1 increased to Lv. 2]
Oh.... sweet.
[Lightning Serration (Legacy): Lv. 1 - Acquired]
Lightning Serration.... is this perhaps....
[Yes, it is the Alpha Serrator's Arcane Art. It appears to be a legacy type.]
It can be pass down, I see.
And just in front of me, is the right and left arm of the Alpha Serrator. Those parts of its body aren't in smithereens from the destruction of [Arcane Orb].
I look at my empty right arm.
Can I?
[In theory, it is very likely. Though, I do not have concrete evidence as there aren't any field test.]
Until now.
[Yes. Until now, if you're willing that is.]
Welp. No time to have second thoughts. Whole place is coming down and it ain't having second thoughts.
Hah..... Here goes.
Hastily, I ate the right arm of the Alpha Serrator raw.
Awful.
Disgusting.
The blood....
Everything about it, is terrible.
The texture and taste... ugh.....
But nevertheless, I still ate it all up.
Hmm.... Why wasn't I....
[You're not hungry because you have learned to supplement yourself with your unusually high Mana Pool.]
Good. That's good but....
[Yeah... it's coming....]
I clenched my fist and bit down my lips tightly as I braced for the transformation, I can feel the heat on my right arm rising.
First, the heat keeps increasing until it broke through my despicably high pain tolerance.
I screamed when it did.
I slam my left fist on the ground as I endure it.
And my right arm begin to grow back.
There are sounds of bones cracking, forming, and aligning.
My claws dug into the solid ground.
After a while, my scream became soundless. My world sways and spins slightly. I think I might be building up a tolerance for a new level of pain.
But until it actually did, I keep slamming the ground with my fist or digging my claws into the ground. I keep switching between these two.
Finally, after minutes of agonizing cries, my new right arm has taken its shape.
It is of the same size as my original right arm but.... it's furry. Not as much as the Serrators but it is a lot of fur by human's standard. My fingers are bigger than the ones on my left arm, even the claws too.
To be honest, my right arm looks more like a paw than a human hand. The upside to this side effect is that my right arm is a very good medium for me to channel the red lightning from [Lightning Serration].
Before I can recover from the after pain, screams resounded into my ears from beyond the debris. It is the scream of everyone. It could be a painful one or a battle cry but all I know is that they are in trouble.
I have to get over there, now.
Shit. No time to worry about the minor problems, if the roof collapses, so be it. I'll think about a solution then.
Red Lightning crackles around my right arm, most of it are converging in my palm. Just like the Alpha Serrator before, I fire a red lightning bolt but mine is bigger and more devastating. For maximum effect, I threw in an [Arcane Orb] too.
[Lightning Serration: Thunder Spear - Acquired]
Together, the two turn the debris into nothing but insignificant pebbles.
The roof above began breaking apart. I destroyed each falling pieces coming at my way with [Abyssal Javelin].
After the smoke cleared from my attack, what I saw left me agape.
A world dyed in bright white.
[Holy shit.]
Even the wise Kai Ming uttered such.